Sal Italiano

Sal Italiano (died 1 January 1968) was US Army private who served in Bravo Company, US 25th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. On 1 January 1968, he and Sandy Mitchum investigated a vacant NVA jungle camp near the Cambodian border and found a box full of NVA maps. Italiano wanted to leave it behind, as it was written in Vietnamese, but Mitchum told Italiano that it was important, and he picked up the box. Doing so activate a booby trap which exploded, killing Italiano instantly and tearing Mitchum's arms off, which led to his death seconds later.